Mario Lopez on A.C. Slater's Legacy, and His Signature Mullet

Very few shows go down in television history the way Saved By the Bell did. Aside from the comedic situations, gorgeous cast, and technicolor wardrobe that walked the line between the late '80s and early '90s, there were a few lessons learned along the way—for example, the perils of caffeine pills, and that there's no hope with dope. A.C. Slater in particular was one character whose shirtless posters wallpapered our childhood rooms, and whose one-liners are quotable to this day, but Mario Lopez didn't realize at the time just how iconic his character would become. "I never expected it at all, you know?" he tells InStyle. "It was just such a fun time in general. We all got along really well, so it was a nice experience overall."

Lopez, who has partnered with General Mills for their Box Tops for Education back-to-school campaign, has two kids of his own, and although his daughter has seen episodes of Saved By the Bell, it wasn't really her thing. "My daughter has no interest in it!" he tells us. "I've talked to other people from the show—Mark-Paul's kids have watched it, Tiffani's daughter says she's obsessed with it, but mine? She's not tripping to watch it at all." In due time, we figure, especially since those '90s trends (and hopefully the Buddy Band) keep re-emerging. Lopez confessed that his acid-washed Z. Cavaricci jeans wouldn't be making a return anytime soon—a sign of the times, he called them—but we figure his signature mullet is poised to make a comeback. At the very least, in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn-esque locales of the world. "I think when you're a kid, that's what you do," he adds. "But would I revisit it? I mean, never say never, but I haven't thought about it."